Holders for containers



July 10, 1956 J. F. KENNEDY 2,754,009

HQLDER FOR CONTAINERS Filed April 13, 1951 g s t 's t 1 FIG. I.

July 10, 1956 J. F. KENNEDY 2,754,009 HOLDER FOR CONTAINERS Filed April15. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent:

HOLDERS FOR CONTAINERS Jerome Francis Kennedy, London, EnglandApplication April 13, 1951, Serial No. 229,439 Claims priority,application Great Britain April 17, 1950 Claims. (Cl. 21174) Thisinvention relates to holders for containers, such asv those of thecircular mouthed jar or bottle type, which have. downwardly facingbearing surfaces, such as peripheral flanges adjacent to the topsormouths thereof, adapted to be supported upon co-operating bearingsurfaces forming part of the holder, and to combinations of such holderswith forms of container particularly adapted to be suspended therein. Inholders of this type, as exemplified by my Patent No. 2,480,411, thecontainer may be inserted into position in the holder with its mouth inengagement with a separate lid or closure member and caused to come intoclose seating engagement with the same, upon being pushed suflicientlyfar into the holder, the parts being so shaped or constructed that theclosure will then be effected by wedging action.

The present invention has for an object the provision of improveddevices of this character, and more par ticularly the provision of suchdevices of relatively simple construction, whereby closure and sealingof the container mouth, and insertion of the container into, and itswithdrawal from, the holder may be accomplished in a particularlyeffective manner.

In a holder according to the present invention for supporting aplurality of open mouthed containers, of the type having lateralprojections adjacent the mouths thereof, in combination with a pluralityof circular rotatable lids for the containers, the holder is formed withat least one downwardly facing anti-friction abutment surface, to engagethe upper surfaces of the lids, and including means on said holder forsupporting the lids beneath said abutment surface in a manner permittingthe lids to rotate relatively to said holder on substantially verticalaxes, and upward facing bearing surfaces on said holder to cooperatewith the downward facing bearing surfaces. on the lateral projections oneach of said COD? tainers, the bearing surfaces on the holder being inthe form of a series of pairs of spaced supports, to permit eachcontainer to be inserted laterally between each of said pairs ofsupports with its mouth below the-respective lid, and with thecooperating bearing surfaces in supporting engagement, at least one ofthe two engaging bearing surfaces on opposite sides of each containerbeing inclined upwardly towards the general plane of said abutmentsurface, such that movement of eachv container relative to the holder inone direction causes the container to rise towards said abutment surfaceand to make progressively tighter sealing engagement with said lid whilereverse movement of the container disengages the container from tightengagement with the lid, and permits the container to be withdrawnlaterally from the holder. The action referred to may be performed byseveral specifically different constructions, included within myinvention, in one of which the runners on the holder engage the inclinedflange of a screw necked container, while in another specific form ofconstruction the runners are so shaped and spaced as to engage acontainer flange parallel to the mouth thereof, in such a manner as.

2, to enablethe seating and sealing and withdrawing operations referredto, to be carried out. The closure means referred to above may, in someforms of construction, be an independent rotatable disc, adapted to bemounted above the supporting runners of the holder and to beengaged'tightly by the container mouth on one side and the holder on theother, when the container is in held and sealed position, or, in otherconstructional forms, it may embody a similar rotatable disc which isalso slidable laterally in the direction of insertion of the containerinto the holder.

In order that the invention may be understood more clearly attention isdirected to'the accompanying drawings, illustrating some of the forms inwhich the invention may be carried into effect. In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is afront elevation ofone form of holder with a container and anindependent rotatable lid mounted in container-sealing position therein;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same partly shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on-line 33 'of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 3, except that thecontainer is shown in the initial position of being inserted into theholder;

Fig. 5? is a front elevation of a second form of the invention, in whicha container having a screw-threaded neck flange extending about theupper cylindrical por tion thereof is shown in position when firstinserted in theholder;

Fig. 6, isiasimilarview, but showing the container in its final sealedposition in the holder;

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken on the line 77 in Fig. 5.

Referring firstto Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings, the sup port plate 2 isadapted to. extend horizontally from a wall or other vertical surface towhich is can be secured. The runners 1, I extend downwardly in parallelrelation from the plate 2 and may be joined together by a horizontalmember 1a which is. secured to the under-surface 2a of support 2;Runners 1, 1 and member 1a preferably constitute a unitary constructionwhich may be stamped from sheet metal.

Runners, 1, 1 are shaped to provide upper and lower runways,respectively, for a separate lid 5 and the peripheral flange 3 aroundthe top or mouth of container 4, the lid and container mouth both beingcircular in shape. The upper runway portions of the runners are formedwith downwardly extending portions 1d spaced apart sutficiently toreceivev the peripheral edge of the lid 5 between them with a fairlyloose fit, these downwardly extending portions being bent inwardly asshown at- 1c, to provide upwardly facing bearing surfaces, upon whichthe down.- wardly facing bearing surface 51) of the lid may be slidably.supported. The runners again extend downwardly from the inner edges ofthe flanges 10 to provide portions 1e spaced apart sufiiciently toaccommodate the vertical peripheral surface of the. container flange 3,these latter downwardly extending runner portions being bent inwardly attheir lower edges to provide the upwardly facing bearing surfaces 112,upon which the downwardly fac-. ing bearing surface. 3a of. thecontainer flange 3 may be slidably supported.

It will thus be seen that the lid 5 may be slidably and rotatablysupported in the upper runway, and that the container may be pushed intosupported position by inserting its peripheral flange 3 into the lowerrunway, so that the bearing surface 3:: of this flange will be slidablyand rotatably supported on flanges 1b of the runners; The-front ends 1of these flanges 1b are prefer ably bent down and belled, asshown, tofacilitate entry of the container flange 3 into supported position uponflanges 1b. and. disengagement of the container from the runners and thelid, upon withdrawal of the container.

The flanges 1c of the runners, upon which the lid is supported, may besubstantially parallel to the horizontal shelf 2 and transverse portion1a of the runner construction, throughout their lengths from front torear. The flanges 1b upon which the container flange is supported,however, slope upwardly from front to rear, towards the plane of theflanges 1c, as is to be seen in Figs. 3 and 4, so that the mouth of acontainer, pushed back upon flanges 1b may be wedged into positionagainst the lid, as will presently be explained.

The lid 5 in the form of the invention now being de scribed, may be ofmoulded plastic material, having a smooth upper surface. It is providedon its lower side with a downwardly extending perimetrical flange 517 sothat a recess 9, of circular cross section, is provided within thisflange 5b. This recess has fitted therein a lining member 10, preferablyformed of a material such as cork, to form a seating surface for themouth of a container. This lining material should be of such a characterthat the mouth of a container may be brought into accurate co-planarcontact with it and also of such character that, when a container havingits mouth pressed against it is rotated about its own axis, greaterfriction will be exerted between the mouth of the container and thisseating material than is exerted, at the same time, between the uppersurface 5a of the lid, and the support surfaces 215 and 20 against whichthis lid. surface is pressed. Cork, with its slight resilience andbinding surface, answers these requirements. A seating surface of groundglass or the like may, however, be found preferable in some cases. Therecess 9 is of a diameter such that the container flange 3 will fitsnugly within its boundary flange Sb, this flange extending down a shortdistance below the lower surface of the lining material 10.

Means preferably are provided to prevent the unintentional removal ofthe lid from the holder. of construction now being described a centralcircular recess 6 is provided in the upper surface of the lid, thistapering upwards and outwards at its outer edge in a kind of circularramp 6a until it meets a flat perirnetral band 5a around the top of thelid. This latter constitutes a bearing surface which bears against thebearing surfaces 2!), 2c of the upper plate 2, when the container 4,after engaging the lid 5, is pushed into the supported position on therunners 1, as is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

A downwardly directed boss or protuberances 8 is pressed or struck outof the transverse member 1a, which connects the pair of runners 1, 1,and it will be seen that this lies within the recess 6 of the lid 5 whenthe corntainer is in the supported position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.When the container 4 is withdrawn, the lid 5 will be carried forwardwith the container mouth until it reaches the position shown in Fig. 4,when the ramp 6a impinges against and partly rides over the boss 8, thusforcing the rear of the lid 5 downwards, and so wedging the lid betweenthe boss 8, the bearing surface 2b of the supporting plate 2, and theflange 1c of the runners 1. The lid 5 is by this means prevented frombeing unintentionally entirely withdrawn from the holder when thecontainer is withdrawn. It is at the same time held in the semi-outposition shown in Fig. 4, in readiness of the next insertion of thecontainer.

As an auxiliary or alternative means for preventing the unintentionalextraction of the lid 5 from the holder, a pair of lugs 11 may beprovided, to project forwardly and inwardly from the front of the upperpart 1d of each runner 1, as shown, the distance between the same, attheir nearest points, being slightly less than the exterior diameter ofthe lid 5. Thus, as the lid 5 is carried forward with the container, onremoving of the latter from the holder, it will be caught between thelugs 11 near its horizontal axis and be prevented from further forwardmovement unless sufficient force is exerted to spring In the form themapart, which the resilience of the material will permit.

The above remarks as to the entire removal of the lid apply in case thelugs 11 are alone relied on as detaining means for the lid, the boss,being omitted. If, on the other hand, the boss 8 alone is used asdetaining means, the ramp 6a must be forced over the boss 8, which theresilience of the material permits. If both the lugs 11, 11 and the boss8 (together with the lid construction including the recess 6 and ramp6a) are employed, it is obvious that the lid may be removed by pullingthe same outwardly with sufficient force both to force the ramp 6!: overboss 3 and to spring the lugs 11, 11 apart. The removal of the lidtogether with the container 4 can be effected in any such case, the lidbeing held firmly on the mouth 7 of the container during the Withdrawal.

The action of engagement of a container in, and its removal from, aholder, will now be described. The lid being in the semi-out positionshown in Fig. 4, the mouth of the container may be moved rearwardlytowards and between the runners I, when the flange 3 of the containerwill be guided by the lead-in lf into the lower runway between the outerguiding surfaces 1e and above the supporting flange 1b. The mouth of thecontainer will then slide across the peripheral flange 5b of the lid andinto the circular recess 9 of the lid wherefrom the container mouth willbe closely contained within the flange 5b and in engagement with thelining or seating material 10, such as cork, as above described. Furtherrearward movement of the container will carry the lid with it, the lowerbearing surface 3a of the flange 3 of the container riding up therearwardly rising bearing surface 1b of the runners, and thereby causingthe mouth 7 of the container to be carried progressively nearer tosupport plate 2. The continuation of this movement will cause theco-planar close seating engagement of the mouth 7 against the corkseating 10 because of the wedging action of the relatively inclinedbearing surfaces 2b and 20,

above the lid 5 and 1b, under the flange 3 of the container,respectively.

it will be noted that the peripheral flange 5b of the lid projectsdownwardly a sufficient distance below the bottom of the cork seating 18to prevent the rear edge of the mouth 7 from overshooting the seating10, and escaping rearwardly past the back edge of the flange 5b, as thecontainer is pushed home into the holder. Flange 511 on the other handmust not be of such depth as to cause any difliculty in inserting theflange 3 of the container between the front edge thereof and of thebearing surface 111 of the runners, when the container is being insertedinto the holder, the lid 5 being in the semi-out position shown in Fig.4, or in causing any difficulty in freeing the container flange 3 fromthis lid flange 5b when the lid has been drawn out to the Fig. 4position, upon the removal of the container from the holder. The flange5!; further is of such a depth as almost to fill the gap between thebearing surfaces 211, 2c of the support plate and the bearing surface 10of the runners, so as to be able to slide freely forward and backbetween these surfaces. Proper proportions for the parts can bedetermined readily, with the above considerations in mind.

The preferred construction, as shown, embodies the upper and lowerrunways, in which the runner flange 10, which supports the lid, is at ahigher level than the runner flange 1b, which supports the containerflange. This obviates the difliculty that, if the lid flange and thecontainer flange were supported at the same level, the lid flange 5!)would have to be correspondingly and undesirably, deeper.

In the description of the invention, so far, reference has only beenmade to straight line movements of the container and the lid, rearwardlyand forwardly along the runners. It should, however, be observed that,in the embodiment of the invention now being described, the lid 5 iscircular, and being of a suliiciently loose fit between the' sideportions 1d of the runners is thus capable ofbeing rotated about itsvertical axis, when in supported position, as is also the. container,the neck 4 and theflange 3- of which are also circular. Because of thisconstruction, a rotary movement may be given to the container, as wellas a back and forward movement, when inserting the same into or removingit from the holder with improved results, as will now be explained.

The bearing surfaces 5a of the lid, and 2b, 2c,.of the support, aresmooth and non-resilient, in comparison with the cork or other suitableseating surface of the lid, with which surface the container mouth 7tends to bind, and there is therefore less frictional resistance tomovement between the same than there is to movement between thecontainer mouth 7 and the cork seating 10. Consequently, once the mouth7 is in seating engagement with the cork surface it), rotation of thecontainer about its. vertical axis will cause the lid to rotate with it.It istherefore possible, when the container is being brought into closeseated position in the holder, and its mouth has been inserted into theflange 5b of the lid, to rotate the same by hand about its verticalaxis, at the same. time as it is being pushed rearwardly. it. is foundthat this action causes the mouth 7 to be jammed against the corkseating 10 in a tighter relationship than wouldbe achieved by a similarforce exerted in a straight rearward push. Conversely, a similarrotation of the container, accompanied by gentle forward pressurethereon, Will release the mouth 7 and the lid 5 very readily from en.gagement, even when tightly wedged. together. between the runners 1. andthe support plate 2, whereas a straightforward pull alone would notsucceed in releasing. the. same without the exertion of considerablygreater force.

This effect seems to be due to the fact that,.onpushing and turning thecontainer and lid into seatedposition, some point on the edge of flange3 of the container will. come into sufliciently binding engagement withthe adja-, cent support surface to act as a fulcrum, about which theremainder of the turning system will swing, thus obtainingthe advantageof a lever action, while, when the container is thereafter rotated inthe opposite direction by placing the hand at the rear of the containerand rotating the latter from rear to front, to release the same, thecontainer and lid will swing about this point of tighter engagement,obtaining leverage to release the opposite side of the container, andthen to cause the portion. of the container at such engaged point alsoto roll out of binding engagement. It will be appreciated thereby that,provided the lid is caused to be rotatedwith the container on.withdrawal, a rear to front hand rotation oflthecontainer will disengagethe frictional surfaces of the. lid 5. and flange 3, binding againstsupport plate 2 and runners. 1, respectively, and so initiate forwardsliding movement.v (A comparable example is the way in which. thewithdrawal of a tight champagne cork may be facilitated by giving it aninitial or simultaneous twist.)

It will be observed that in this construction, sincethe lid 5 isseparate and circular and can rotate between the guide elements 1d ofthe runners, while making virtually a point contact only at one side orthe other with the same, liability of a sliding lid to bind against orbetween its guide means is obviated. And, of course, the possibility ofthe container itself becoming badly jammed. in the holder is, inthe sameway, prevented.

The action above described may be aided by locating one of the bearingflanges 1b of the runners 1, which support the flange 3 of thecontainer, at a slightly higher level, or arranging the same at aslightly steeper incline, than the other runner. Thus, the left handrunner may be provided with a supporting flange at a slightly higherlevel than the flange 1b of the right hand runner. In either case, whenthe container is seated in the holder, the flange 3. of the containerwill be squeezed more tightly on the side which is on the higher levelor which rises at the steeper incline, than on the opposite side, whenthe container. has beeninserted far. enough .into the. holder to havethiseflect. take place. Thus, referringto. Fig. 4, friction of thecontainer flangev 3. against its left hand bearing flange will at thistime. be greater than its friction against its right handbearing flange1b and rotation of the container about its vertical'axis from right-toleft will cause the flange. 3. to roll forward on its. left or slightlytighter runner, being somewhat heldback thereby while sliding forward onthe right or. slightly easier runner, and so tend to move outoftheholder, whilea reverse rotating movement ofthe container will'tendto drive the container further into the holder. (The term left or. rightrefers to a view front the front).

In the preferred construction, the connecting member 1aof the runner.unit is secured to the underside of the support 2 and is let into thesame so that the upper. surface of the lid 5, when. inposition in theholder, is prevented from touching any partof this. connecting member 1aother than the'boss 8.. The. area of the upper lid surface infrictionalcontactwith. the under-sideof support plate 2 is thereby.reduced. Also, if connecting member 1a is secured to support plate 2,at: points somewhat. removed from the downwardly extendingrunnerportions 1, I, the fact that. the. lidis slightly spaced: away fromrunner portion 1a will make it possiblefor the runners to givedownwardly slightly under. any excessive strain (since they are formedof. sheet metal andare therefore some.- whatresilient), at least asuflicientamount to compensate for any irregularity in level. orinclination of the bearing flanges 15 of they runners. and to ensure thecontainer mouth-7 makingcoplanar engagement with the seating 10 when.the container is moved. sufficiently far into the holder.

The support plate. 2. preferably ispressed from sheet metal so as toprovidefront and rear. bearing surfaces 2b,

and 2cfor the lid, as shown. The rear supportv portion 20, may, ifdesired, be inclined downwardly at a steeper angle,,from front to rear,than the. front support portion 211; asisshown in Fig. 4. The result ofthis is that the rear or inward portion of the lid, as itmoves overbearing surface 20, will be forced downwardly by the inclinationthereof, into tighter contact with the rear portion of the containermouth.

It' will be observed that the container flange 3 is convexly curved orbevelled onits outer edge 3a, thus making the sameto rock slightly uponits. bearing surfaces 1b, so that. the mouth 7 of the container will becaused more readily to adopt the-plane of the seating surface 10 whenforced against it. 7

Av second form of theinvention will now be described in connection withFigs, 5 m7: of the drawings. Inthis case the holder. is, designed. foruse. with cylindrical containers. or containers having, cylindrical neckportions, which are provided with helical flanges or the like, and forsuch containers being intended in their ordinary use, to be closed byhaving similarly internally threaded tops screwed. thereon. More broadlyspeaking, the holder in this form of my invention is adapted for usewith containers having flanges thereon which are inclined at an angle tothe seating plane of the container mouth, the container becoming firmlyseated in the holder upon insertion and rotation of the containerbecause of the wedging effect due to the-relativeinclination of thecontainer flange. or flanges totlie. seating plane of a rotatableclosure member positioned-between a support plate, backing the same, andthe engaging holder flanges, supporting the container.

Referring to Figs. 5 to 7, the supporting plate 20 has blanked andformed out of the same or secured to its bottom face a pair of parallelspaced apart brackets or runners 21, 21, having inwardly directedflanges 21b, which are adapted to engage under the helical flanges ofthe container. A rotatable lid 30 is provided beneathsupporting plate20. It may be removably secured in position, so that it can readily betaken out and replaced,

7 when worn, by providing the runner members 21 with upper inwardlydirected flanges 210, similar to the flanges 1c, in the constructionshown in Figs. 1 to 4, and supporting it, that is, this lid, byinserting it in position upon these flanges 21c, the edges of the lidseating closely Within the channels thus formed.

The displacement of lid 30 upon the insertion or withdrawal of thecontainer, is prevented, in the construction illustrated, by theprovision of tongues 31, 31 and 31a, 31a, extending from the front andrear ends of brackets 21, and curved to embrace front and rear portionsof lid 30, respectively.

In this form of construction, the container 24 is of the type providedwith a number of partial helical flanges 23b, 23c, 23d, and 23e runningaround the neck, these being equally spaced apart around the neck andeach of the same being in an exactly similar position as all of theothers in relation to the plane of the mouth 7 of the container. That isto say, these partial flanges are similar and similarly positionedportions of parallel helices. The bearing flanges 21b of brackets 21 maybe substantially horizontal and equidistant from the surface of the lid30.

The container, therefore, is mounted in the holder by pushing it thereinwhile holding it in a position in which the higher portions of twooppositely disposed container flanges, for example, 23b and 23d, engageabove the opposite supporting flanges 21b of the holder, as is shown inFig. 5. The container is then rotated from left to right, as if screwingit up towards the lid 30, which causes lower portions of the containerflanges 23b and 23d progressive- 1y to engage the bearing flanges 21b.The mouth 7 of the container is thereby caused to rise until it ispressed tightly against lid 30, as is shown in Fig. 6. The removal ofthe container is effected by the opposite or un-screwing rotation andthen withdrawing it forwardly.

The helical flanges 23b, 23c, 23d, 23c may be of such length that theydo not overlap one another, but leave a gap or vertical passage 24bbetween each of their adjacent ends, which passage may be of sufiicientwidth to enable the same to be pushed up vertically past the bearingflanges 21b of the brackets without the flanges 23b, 23c, 23d, 23::fouling the flanges 21b. In such case the container may be insertedvertically until the mouth 7 engages the seating 10, when the containermay be rotated from left to right until two of the helical flanges, say,23b, 23d, wedge against the bearing flanges 2111. It is, however,considered preferable that the gap 2412, if any, be sufliciently narrow,or that the bearing flanges 2151 be made to converge rearwardly, asshown at 21bx, in such a manner, as to prevent the possibility of thecontainer inadvertently dropping vertically out of the holder.

As to the constructions described, it is obvious from the drawings thatseries of pairs of runners, such as those described, may be secured inparallel relation to a single support plate 2, so as to support an equalnumber of containers therein, while the support plate 2 may itself bescrewed to the under side of an existing shelf, or the like, or besecured to a vertical surface by means of brackets affixed to one of itsedges. Obviously also, the runner construction may be integral withsupport 2, if desired, as shown in Fig. 7. One form of wall bracket 12for securing a holder to a vertical surface is shown in Figs. 1 and 2and has an end plate 13 with a front lug 14 projecting at right anglesto the end plate, to fit into a tunnel-shaped front edge 2e of thesupport plate 2, while rear lugs 15 and 16 are adapted to be screwed toa vertical surface through screw holes 19 therein.

' The holder may also be incorporated in a portable fitment adapted tobe stood on a table. The supporting plate is then preferably inclined ona rearward cant, whereby the withdrawal of the container occurs in aslightly upward direction. The weight of the fitment or stand togetherwith the containers may thus be used to render superfluous the securingof the holder to a fixed surface.

The invention is not confined to the embodiments illustrated but may becarried out in any manner falling within the scope of the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. A holder for supporting a plurality of open mouthed containers of thetype having lateral projections adjacent the mouths thereof, incombination with a plurality of circular rotatable lids for thecontainers, the holder being formed with at least one dovtmwardly facinganti-friction abutment surface to engage the upper surfaces of the lids,and including means on said holder for supporting the lids beneath saidabutment surface in a manner permitting the lids to rotate relatively tosaid holder on substantially vertical axes, and upward facing bearingsurfaces on said holder to cooperate with the downward facing bearingsurfaces on the lateral projections on each of said containers, thebearing surfaces on the holder being in the form of a series of pairs ofspaced supports, to permit each container to be inserted laterallybetween each of said pairs of supports with its mouth below therespective lid, and with the cooperating bearing surfaces in supportingengagement, at least one of the two engaging bearing surfaces onopposite sides of each container being inclined upwardly towards thegeneral plane of said abutment surface, such that movement of eachcontainer relative to the holder in one direction causes the containerto rise towards said abutment surface and to make progressively tightersealing engagement with said lid, while reverse movement of thecontainer disengages the container from tight engagement with the lid,and permits the container to be withdrawn laterally from the holder.

2. A holder as claimed in claim 1 in which the part of the under surfaceof the lid contained within the annular portion of said surface whichengages the mouth of the respective container when in sealing engagementtherewith, lies at least level with the plane containing the rim of themouth of the container.

3. A holder as claimed in claim 1 in which each pair of supports is inthe form of a pair of parallel spaced ramps inclined upwardly andrearwardly towards the plane of the abutment surface.

4. A holder as claimed in claim 1 including detent means provided onsaid holder to prevent each lid being withdrawn accidentally.

5. A holder for supporting a plurality of open mouthed containers of thetype having lateral projections adjacent the mouths thereof, incombination with a plurality of circular rotatable lids for thecontainers, the holder being formed and provided with means by which itmay be located on a fixed surface, and with at least one downwardlyfacing anti-friction abutment to engage the upper surfaces of the lids,and including means on said holder for supporting the lids beneath saidabutment surface in a manner permitting the lids to rotate relatively tosaid holder on substantially vertical axes, and upward facing bearingsurfaces on said holder cooperating with the downward facing bearingsurfaces on the lateral projections of each of said containers, thebearing surfaces on the holder being in the form of a series of pairs ofspaced supports, which are clear in front elevation of the front profileof the respective containers in the general horizontal position ofinsertion, to permit each container to be inserted laterally betweeneach of said pairs of supports with its mouth below the respective lid,and with the co-operating bearing surfaces in supporting engagement, atleast one of the two engaging bearing surfaces on opposite sides of eachcontainer being inclined upwardly towards the general plane of saidabutment, such that movement of each container relative to the holder inone direction causes the container to rise towards said abutment and tomake progressively tighter sealing engagement with said lid whilereverse movement of the container disengages the container from tightengagement with the lid, and permits the container to be withdrawnlaterally from the holder.

6. A holder for mounting to an independent structure for the purpose ofsuspending therefrom a plurality of open mouthed containers of the typehaving lateral projections adjacent the mouths thereof, in combinationwith a plurality of rotatable lids for closing the containers, with atleast one anti-friction abutment to engage the upper surfaces of thelids, and including means on said holder for supporting the lids beneathsaid abutment in a manner permitting the lids to rotate relatively tosaid holder on substantially vertical axes, and upwardly facing bearingsurfaces on the holder to co-operate with downwardly facing bearingsurfaces on the lateral projections of the containers, the bearingsurfaces on the holder being in the form of a series of pairs of spacedsupports, the horizontal distance between each pair of supports beingless than the distance between oppositely disposed peripheral edges ofsaid lateral projections on individual containers to be suspended butgreater than the exterior measurement of said containers takenimmediately below said projections, to permit each container to beinserted laterally in a generally horizontal direction between one ofsaid pairs of supports with its mouth below the respective lid and withthe co-operating bearing surfaces in supporting engagement, saidsupports also being spaced, at least at one point thereon, from thegeneral plane of the engaging surface of said abutment a distance whichis equal to the combined thickness of such portions of the supportedcontainer and lid sealing the same, measured from under one saidprojection at the point of engagement with the respective support to thenearest point on the general plane of engagement between said lid andabutment, at least one of the two engaging bearing surfaces on oppositesides of each container being inclined upwardly towards the generalplane of said abutment such that combined rotational and lateralmovement of a container, supported and sealed in tight seatingengagement in the holder, disengages the container from such tightengagement with the lid and bolder and permits the lidless container tobe withdrawn.

7. A holder for supporting a plurality of open mouthed containers of thetype having external screwthread formations adjacent the mouths thereof,in combination with a plurality of circular rotatable lids for thecontainers, the holder being formed with at least one downwardly facinganti-friction abutment surface to engage the upper surfaces of the lids,and including means on said holder for supporting the lids beneath saidabutment surface in a manner permitting the lids to rotate relatively tosaid holder on substantially vertical axes, and upward facing bearingsurfaces on said holder to cooperate with the downward facing bearingsurfaces on the screwthread formations on each of said containers, thebearing surfaces on the holder being in the form of a series of pairs ofspaced supports, to permit each container to be inserted laterallybetween each of said pairs of supports with its mouth below therespective lid, and with the cooperating bearing surfaces in supportingengagement, such that rotational movement of each container relative tothe holder in one direction causes the container to rise towards saidabutment surface and to make progressively tighter sealing engagementwith said lid, while reverse movement of the container disengages thecontainer from tight engagement with the lid, and permits the containerto be withdrawn laterally from the holder.

8. A holder as claimed in claim 7 in which the part of the under surfaceof the lid contained within the annular portion of said surface whichengages the mouth of the respective container when in sealing engagementtherewith, lies at least level with the plane containing the rim of themouth of the container.

9. A holder as claimed in claim 7 in which each pair of supports is inthe form of a pair of parallel spaced ramps inclined upwardly andrearwardly towards the plane of the abutment surface.

10. A holder as claimed in claim 7 including detent means provided onsaid holder to prevent each lid being withdrawn accidentally.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS758,515 Fenn Apr. 26, 1904 1,216,110 Goodrow Feb. 13, 1917 1,462,370Lykins July 17, 1923 1,853,808 Greenwood Apr. 12, 1932 2,021,065Hurlburt Nov. 12, 1935 2,080,947 Ligeour May 18, 1937 2,188,227 MooreJan. 23, 1940 2,480,411 Kennedy Aug. 30, 1949

